Insect trap



J. GESMAR INSECT TRAP Aug. 24, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 5. 1963Inventor:

a y? a n r n fim 6 *0 v 0 W3 dwM Aug. 24, 1965 J GESMAR 3,201,893

INSECT TRAP Filed Sept. 3, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f/wmtar H/(r Aim/10gUnited States Patent 3,201,893 WSECT TRAP J orgen Gesmar, Westport,Conn, assignor to General Electric ompany, a corporation of New YorkFiled Sept. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 306,084 2 Uaims. (Cl. 43-139) Thisinvention relates to a device for attracting and capturing flyinginsects and is particularly adapted for use at night.

Although insect traps including a light for attracting the insects and afan for drawing the insects into a container have been known for manyyears, they have never became widely accepted or commonly used as ahousehold appliance. In order to gain such acceptance, it is highlydesirable that a trap not only be eifective in capturing insects, but inaddition be low in cost and convenient to use.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved insecttrap having an eilicient and simplified low cost construction which iseasy to fabricate and assemble.

It is another object of this invention to provide a lightweight insecttrap having an improved arrangement for conveniently handling the trapto dispose of the insects accumulated in the trap.

Briefly stated, one embodiment of the improved insect trap of theinvention includes a component supporting member which fits Within theupper open end of an insect receptacle. The component supporting membercarries means for attracting insects, such as an electric lamp, and anelectric fan for drawing the attracted insects through the componentsupporting member and into the receptacle. For permitting the necessaryairflow, a receptacle wall is formed of screening or similar material sothat air may be drawn therethrough while insects will be retained Withinthe receptacle. For ease of handling the insect trap and for supportingthe trap, there is provided a plurality of legs attached to thereceptacle. These legs are of a size such that the receptacle may beeasily separated from the component supporting member by grasping one ofthe legs in one hand and the remainder of the trap in the other hand. Inthis manner the insects which accumulate within the receptacle may beconveniently and quickly disposed of by simply emptying the insects outof the open end of the receptacle.

Further features, objects and advantages will become apparent withreference to the following description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insect trap of the invention with theinsect receiving receptacle partially separated from the remainder ofthe trap; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevational cross-sectional view of the trap of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the insect trap of the invention may beseen as including a component supporting member connected to a hood orcover 12 and positioned over an insect receptacle 14. A supportingbridge 16 is centrally positioned within the supporting member 10 bymeans of a plurality of inwardly extending ribs 18-23.

' For attracting insects at night, there is provided an electric lamp 24mounted within an insulated socket 25 which in turn is positioned in asocket or recess 26 formed in the upper surface of bridge 16. As anadditional means for attracting insects there is provided a series ofcompartments or recesses 28 also integrally formed in the upper surfaceof bridge 16 adjacent lamp 24. Attached to the lower surface of thesupporting bridge, concealed from view, is an electric motor 3t? "icehaving a fan 32 mounted on the motor output shaft 34. Any suitableattaching means may be employed. Electric power is provided for the lampand the motor by means of a suitable cord 36 extending through a strainrelief member 33 mounted in an outwardly extending enlarged portion 41}of support member 10. A suitable electric plug 42 is mounted on the endof cord 36. It should be noted that only a short length of cord asextends beyond the strain relief member 38. In this manner, plug 42remains suspended in the air so that an electric connection made withthe plug will also be suspended thereby minimizing the danger ofelectrical leakage.

One or" the unique features of the insect trap of the invention is thatall components are supported by the member 11). Moreover, the supportingmember 19 is preferably molded of plastic and formed integrally with thecentral supporting bridge 16 and the ribs 1843. Such an arrangementprovides the necessary strength but yet is very inexpensive to fabricatein that it can be molded in one operation. The lamp 24- and motor 30 areindividually electrically insulated from support mem ber 1i), and byutilizing plastic for the support member, the electrical components aredoubly insulated from the remaining structure of the trap.

The compactness of supporting member 11 and its attached componentsshould also be noted. The height of the member is approximately equal tothe height of the motor fan combination with the fan positioned withinthe cylindrical orifice section 11 and with the motor positionedimmediately beneath the upper wall of bridge 16. By positioning the lamp24 adjacent the motor, no additional height is required.

In addition to supporting the aforementioned components, the supportmember 19 serves as an airflow passage having an inlet and an outletorifice for fan 32. For this reason, the member has been given afrustoconical shape vertically oriented with the larger end extendingupwardly to form the top and the lower end extending downwardly to formthe bottom. The lower portion 11 of the member 143 has a cylindricalshape which forms an outlet orifice for the fan and also providesstability to the unit when this cylindrical portion is inserted withinthe upper end of receptacle 14.

As can be seen from the drawings, the insect receptacle 14 is alsoprovided with a frusto-conical shape but is oppositely positioned withrespect to the supporting member 1%. That is, the smaller end of thereceptacle 14 extends upwardly, and the larger end forms the bottom. Asexplained, the lower cylindrical section 11 of the component supportingmember 16 fits Within the open upper end of the receptacle 14- so thatthe lower conical surface of the member 19 rests upon the upper edge ofthe receptacle 14. To retain the insects within the receptacle, a bottomwall 4 made of screening or similar material is provided so that air ispermitted to flow through the receptacle while the insects are preventedfrom escaping. In this connection, it should be noted that since thecylindrical section 11 extends into receptacle 14, a pocket 15 is formedby the outer surface of section 11 and the inner upper surface of theside walls of the receptacle. This pocket prevents the insects fromcrawling upwardly out of the receptacle.

Since the insects accumulate in the receptacle when the trap is inoperation, it is of course necessary to periodically dispose theaccumulated insects. In accordance with the invention, there is provideda unique and convenient arrangement for such disposal operation. As apart of such arrangement, the receptacle 14 is releasably attached tothe supporting member 10. For this purpose, there is provided threeequally spaced flexible fingers 46 riveted or otherwise attached to theupper ponents apart.

side wall ofthe receptacle. member is provided with three equally spacedapertures 43 positioned immediately above the cylindrical section lLwitheach being aligned with a respective oneor the fingers 45. ;It will beapparent that each-of the flexible fingers 46 is self-biased such thatits mid portion 7 The c'omponent supporting 46a will extend inwardlythrough the aperture 48 'while',

the upper edge 46b of the fingeuwill remain outside of. the supportingmember, as best seen in FIG Z. The I attaching'force introduced by thefingers 46 is such that the receptacle will remain attached to thesupporting member 10 when the trap is lifted from, above but yet i thereceptacle can be easily separated from the su'pporting member bymanually forci or pulling the two com- The other aspect of V the trapinvolves the. three elongated elements or legs'Sil having their upperends attached by suitable fastening means 52 to the sidewall ofreceptacle 14f. .The legs 50 are of a size such that thepo'rtionextending downwardly; beneath the' recep'tacle can be convenientlygrasped by I one hand .as indicatedfby the hand 54 in FIG. 1. With.

such an arrangement, the receptacle can be easily sep'athe easy disposalarrangement of. 1

timing or the two elements,

is being held by grasping one of the legs 50 with the other memberextending into the central supportin'g bridge 16. j For appearancereasons, the strut 58 is positioned opposite from the lamp 24to balancethe 'asymme'tricalposh In view of the foregoing description, it will beobvious that in op'eration,-air is drawn in by the fan through theinletdefined by the cover12, the upper end ofthesupporting member 10;and insects attracted to the trap by the lamp 24 or by bait positionedinthe vcompartment 28 are; drawn; into'thefair stream and collected in therated from the remainder of the insect trapbysimplyz pulling on the legand forcing the fingers '46 from their mating aperturesASJ Theaccumulated insects can then f simply "be removed from the. receptaclebydumpingthe insects ,out of the open top.v The reassembly operation isequally simple in that the receptacle can 'be easily pressed into, itsoriginal position. While the receptaclemay be made of the'materialdesired, it is prefer'ablethat' it he -fairly strong and rugged so thatit can be safely banged against a trash canto empty the trapped-insects.

By using a material relatively. heavy when compared,

with theupperisection of the trap, the stabilityof the receptacle14.should, be'noted that ai-r. can enter the trap throughout a" 360? inletand that the lamp 24 is also exposed throughout the entire inlet,v Afeature of the trap which is perhaps not so obvious is .thatthe fanintroducesa circular component to the airflow thus insects drawn intothe member 10 will strike one of the ribs 13-423 if not immediatelydrawn into the receptacle 14.

This action is'rlikely to stun the insect so that, it is then 1 I suckedinto the receptacle and escape is thereby prevented.

. The advantages obtainedby utilizingthe frusto-conical shapes forthesupporting member and the receptacle may also. not be readilyapparent..- The converging arrangementof the member10'pr0videsmairimumair velocity atthe entrance to*the receptacle f14.. This is desirablefrom astandp'oint of quickly drawing the insects into applianceisenhanced. If metal legs are employed; n'on- 1 scratching feet51 maybeprovided for the ends of the legs to protect the supporting surface,

The hood or cover1'2 as seen from the drawings; is a V; cone-shapedmember attached to the. upper ends of a plurality of struts, includingtwo plain struts 5 6 and aj special strut and mounting member 58.The-cover 12 v l v performs several different functions; It protects,theelecw merely lnustratlve of the PmsenflY Preferred embodltricalcomponents by preventing rainifrom falling there-1'- on. Itcooperate's with the upper edge of member 'ltlto define the air inlettothe. ma na the size of the-inletj determines the air velocity at theinlet. Since the'insectsnormally approach from the sides, it is'desirable that the cover be employed to; obtain the 360 side'inletwhilel V preventingrairflow from above. The cover also confines v thehght output of 1amp 24so that "an unpleasant glare I In this regard, theinner lower surface of the cover 12 may be given a;

to people above the trap is prevented.

intensifying the light output.

reflective finish to reflect light through the inlet,-thereby The coverand its associ'ted strut also provide means by which the trap can beoptionally supported by mount ing on a verticalsurface or besuspendedfrom a-,supi the receptacle. The diverging walls of the receptacle actas a diii'u's'er' section wherein the velocity of the air is smoothlydecreased. .Such'an arrangement improves the efficiency of the airmoving system and' further desirably reduces air movement within thereceptacle.

Although the invention herein described :is fully capable (if-achievingthe objects'and providing the advantages hereiubefore mentioned, it is.to be understood that ment of the .invention'and'that itjis'not to belimitedto athe' details of construction herein des'cribed otherthanasset forth in the appendedclaims; a

" What'is claimed is: a a

"1. Aninsect trap comprising: an Open-endedfruStO- eonical' memberdefining an, air 'p'asag'e through; its open ends", said member beingvertically oriented solthat the smallend' forms the bottom and thelarger end forms the .top; a componentsuppor-ting bridge positionedwithin said member; a plurality ofsupporting ribsex tending between,said member and saidbridge; an electric lamp mounted intheiu'pper'su'rfa'ce of said bridge; an} e'lectric motor andffancombination, attached to and' extending beneath said a bridge; aco'mpartment for rec eivingin'sect bait-formed port; A suitable membersuchasvan eye-boltor hoole 7 extends through an opening in the uppertiplof-coverf 12 to provide an attaching point -for suspending orcarryi'ngthe trap. The lower ends of struts 56-;arebentin- Q wardly at 56dand attached to lugs57 exti'e ndinginwardly 1 from the side walls of suort member 10, b meanso'f V r pp openmg bemg slightlylarger:thanathejbottom. ofsaid screws 59 or fother suitable fastenin'gin'emhenf As can beseen from the drawings, sttut s s-{has operationin'that the upper portion of theft-rap "can be heldby the handle'withone hand while the receptacle endfope'n and its; larger. end having a-.surface for permitting air to 1 flow! the'rethrough while preventinginsects to fiow .therethrough, said receptacle j being verticallyoriented vwith the smaller end forming, the top 'and'the larger endforming the bottom, saidreceptacle top member. so thatz said. member-maybe received within the .toplofiSaid receptacle, a plurality of-resilientfingers each 7 j ha'ving.its lowerifendattaehed'to'the side wall of saidreceptacle andi extending upwardly toward said member," each'of saidfingers having a middle section'extending'im Wardly' andeachofsaidfingers b eing' self-biased inwardly;

a plurality-of aperturesformed in said member with each 1 of saidapertures being'aligned-with a'respective one of said resilientfingersande'ach being adaptedte receive a middle; section of arespective one :of' said fingers for releasably attaching the receptacleto the member; and a plurality of legs attached to said receptacle, saidlegs being of a size to be conveniently grasped with one hand so thatthe receptacle may be separated from said member by grasping one of saidlegs and manually forcing the receptacle away from the member.

2. An insect trap comprising: an open-ended support member having anupper section of frusto-conical shape with the larger end extendingupwardly and having a lower eylindrically shaped orifice section; acomponent supporting bridge positioned within the upper section of saidmember; a plurality of supporting ribs extending between said member andsaid bridge; insect attracting means mounted on said bridge adjacent theopen upper end of said support member; an electric motor and fancombination attached to and extending beneath said bridge with the fanlocated at least partially within said cylindrical orifice section andarranged to draw air downwardly through said member; an insect receivingreceptacle having a frusto-conical shape with its smaller end open andhaving a surface for permitting air to flow therethrough whilepreventing insects to flow therethrough; said receptacle beingvertically oriented with the smaller end extending upwardly and thelarger end extending downwardly, said receptacle upper end beingslightly larger than said cy1in drical section of said support member sothat said member may be partially received within the upper end of saidreceptacle; means formed on the lower end of said support member and theupper end of said receptacle for releasably attaching the receptacle tothe support memher; and a plurality of legs attached to said receptacleextending downwardly to support said trap, said legs being of a size tobe conveniently grasped with one hand so that the receptacle may beseparated from said member by grasping one of said legs and manuallyforcing the receptacle away from the member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 988,476 4/11 LaBaum 43-113 1,144,508 6/15 Taylor 240-2 1,601,552 9/26 Bell 43-1133,059,373 10/62 Gardner 43-113 FOREIGN PATENTS 631,512 11/61 Canada.

662,897 12/51 Great Britain.

358,817 5/38 Italy.

0 SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

1. AN INSECT TRAP COMPRISING: AN OPEN-ENDED FRUSTOCONICAL MEMBERDEFINING AN AIR PASSAGE THROUGH ITS OPEN ENDS, SAID MEMBER BEINGVERTICALLY ORIENTED SO THAT THE SMALL END FORMS THE BOTTOM AND THELARGER END FORMS THE TOP; A COMPONENT SUPPORTING BRIDGE POSITIONEDWITHIN SAID MEMBER; A PLURALITY OF SUPPORTING RIBS EXTENDING BETWEENSAID MEMBER AND SAID BRIDGE; AN ELECTRIC LAMP MOUNTED IN THE UPPERSURFACE OF SAID BRIDGE; AN ELECTRIC MOTOR AND FAN COMBINATION ATTACHEDTO AND EXTENDING BENEATH SAID BRIDGE; A COMPARTMENT FOR RECEIVING INSECTBAIT FORMED IN THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID BRIDGE; AN INSECT RECEPTACLEHAVING A FRUSTO-CONCIAL SHAPE WITH ITS SMALLER END OPEN AND ITS LARGEREND HAVING A SURFACE FOR PERMITTING AIR TO FLOW THERETHROUGH WHILEPREVENTING INSECTS TO FLOW THERETHROUGH, SAID RECEPTACLE BEINGVERTICALLY ORIENTED WITH THE SMALLER END FORMING THE TOP AND THE LARGEREND FORMING THE BOTTOM, SAID RECEPTACLE TOP OPENING BEING SLIGHTLYLARGER THAN THE BOTTOM OF SAID MEMBER SO THAT SAID MEMBER MAY BERECEIVED WITHIN THE TOP OF SAID RECEPTACLE, A PLURALITY OF RESILIENTFINGERS EACH HAVING ITS LOWER END ATTACHED TO THE SIDE WALL OF SAIDRECEPTACLE AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY TOWARD SAID MEMBER,